Disclaimer: I wouldn't be here if I did
A.C.: Midterms are over, on with... TOEFL -rolls eyes- oh yeah, I might have to take SAT again too. Expect... angst and frustration... maybe... who knows, I might just write lots of crack from pressure. Heh, to think that I used to right humor/crack... I've come a long way haven't I? -goes back to memorizing vocabs-
Something's wrong with this chapter, just can't put my finger on it...
As always, thanks for the wonderful reviews ㅅ-ㅅ
Warnings: possible spoilers, oocness, breach of grammar security rule number something, something, something, mature themes, implied rape, noncon and general BL-ness that you can ignore by skipping the italicized parts in the beginning.
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Ukitake Jyuushiro refrained from shouting out loud when he first saw Hitsugaya standing side-by-side with the twelfth's captain.
The sickly shinigami's first thought had been to convey the messages from the tenth division that had come through Hell Butterflies. However, when he saw the grim look on Captain Yamamoto's face while sitting on his chair in the front, he immediately fanned out in a half-circle behind the two other captains along with his colleagues.
The space beside him felt horribly empty. He had no love for the mad scientist of Gotei 13's captains, but it did not sit right with him when he saw the man standing beside the green-eyed prodigy. Kyouraku Shunsui noticed this and shot his long-time best friend a quieting look.
Ukitake settled down once Captain Yamamoto began to speak.
Ukitake had thought that after the betrayal of three captains there would be nothing on his dimension or the other that could have possibly surprised him. Yamamoto had proven him wrong with his next words. The aged captain had once again demonstrated the lengths he would go to in order to ensure the survival of Soul Society and himself.
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"Get up."
He dug his heels against the ground as he got up, fingers tightening around the hilt of his zanpakuto as he looked up sullenly at the shinigami in front of him. The man looked back down at him impassively, spitting over to the side as he signaled him forward. "Come on Toushiro..." he coaxed tauntingly, shoulders tense. "Get up."
Hitsugaya gritted his teeth and got up but did not go forward. He knew what the results would be if he did. He needed a plan and fast. With a clang of metal on metal, he met the other shinigami head on, being forced into the air when he was thrown back from recoil. He landed lightly on his feet and dodged, as geysers of water began to shoot up from the ground.
"You can't run for ever."
Hitsugaya cut through a tower of water burning his hand in process. The other shinigami struck his zanpakuto in an upwards motion, fusing the flow into one massive serpentine creature. The water-snake snapped its jaws at Hitsugaya, thoroughly soaking his haori in boiling water as he fought to keep away from its coiling body. He immediately threw the haori off and threw it at the serpent. The serpent played with the offering for a while, allowing Hitsugaya to bypass its front half and above its second when it lost interest and renewed its attack.
Biting back a scream Hitsugaya tried to keep the dripping fangs at bay, aware that just by touching him the serpent could possibly kill him or worse. Boiling liquid poured down from above and the white-haired captain gaped, just trying to regain his breath as his skin took on an unnaturally red glow.
He had to move before the snake could wrap around him. If it did, it was game over and back to square one for the captain of the tenth division.
"Sit upon the frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!" the air and water around him cooled and froze for a second before reheating. But the split second was enough for Hitsugaya to jump clear of his watery hell and out into the open air.
The apparition's fangs grazed him by inches as he struck down with his sword. The snake's head split in half and wrapped around him, reforming with Hitsugaya trapped in its mouth. Hitsugaya couldn't breath as hot water poured into his lungs and stomach. He flailed in the water, an arm or a leg occasionally sticking out of the snake's head as it kept its mouth shut until the heat of the water wore the young captain down.
Soon the kicks became occasional twitches and the other shinigami felt it was safe to let him go. The snake fell apart into an enormous pond of steaming liquid. Hitsugaya floated dazed in the middle.
"I think this would make a nice hot springs eh To-u-shi-ro?"
The water was still hot but cooling down at a rapid pace. The man shrugged and began to walk on the water, tapping the green-eyed captain's head with his sheath to poke him awake. Gotei 13's youngest captain muttered something out loud. The dark haired man strained to catch it and failed. He squatted down by the younger shinigami's side, tugging at the too-pale hair. "You alive Shiro-chan?"
A hand snapped up and caught the man by the collar. It tugged him down into an eye to eye level with the prodigy captain.
"Seal this world in a field of ice, Hyourinmaru."
The world froze.
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"...If that is true I am indeed sorry Hitsugaya-kun."
"Ku ku ku, I'm afraid Hitsugaya-kun is a little drugged up at the moment. I'm sure the gesture is appreciated all the same."
"How could you, he is a child."
"He is a captain. We are prepared to throw down our lives before Seireitei... some sooner than others."
"Tsk."
"But why him?"
"It's either him or us."
"...still a captain, this shouldn't have happened."
"It's because it's him isn't it? He ain't a proper shinigami."
"Quiet all of you."
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Matsumoto Rangiku had nearly worn a hole through the floor with her pacing. Madarame Ikkaku had long since given up on counting the busty lieutenant's turns and Asegawa Yumichika was busy trying to polish his nails.
Kuchiki Rukia let out a sigh.
Kurotsuchi Nemu entered the room followed by a submissive captain of the tenth division.
Matsumoto gaped for a minute before rushing to his side.
"Captain, where have you been?!"
Hitsugaya blinked slowly as if trying to remember something important. The three others noticed the unusual behavior and came to investigate, accidentally bumping against the blonde and pushing her enormous cleavage into the white-haired captain's face.
Hitsugaya did not react at all.
Matsumoto's jaws dropped open.
Amidst Ikkaku's offhand comment of 'Maybe he's finally realizing how good he's got.', she pulled her captain free of her assets and looked at him. He looked back twitching, his normally vibrant eyes glassy and hazed with confusion.
Seeing as how she wouldn't get the answers from her captain in his current state she looked to Nemu for answers, her face contorted with worry and half-anger. The melancholy girl met her gaze steadily and produced a small plastic bottle from beneath her lieutenant badge. The glass was black, the liquid inside viscous and sluggish like tar. Rangiku could have sworn she saw a small air bubble pop like an ugly wart before smoothing down into the oily surface.
Reluctant to hide that anywhere on her person, she held the vial in her fist and brought her captain towards the chairs and sat him down. Nemu looked at them both with unreadable green eyes. Yumichika glared into the artificial green until she broke eye contact with him.
"It's for when the pain gets too much," she echoed softly. She bowed and left, disappearing through the doorway.
Renji came moments later, bewildered at the tense atmosphere of the room.
"Guys...?"
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So six shinigami had just decided to crash into his room before leaving.
He was going to have to see those six faces in school.
Rukia was going to live with him.
He still lived with his father.
His life was a party.
"So why are you here again?"
"Supervision."
"Supervision," Ichigo repeated in disbelief. "You have two shinigami capable of summoning a bankai, one lieutenant and two more capable shikai users. Just how much supervision do you need?"
"You'd be surprised," Hitsugaya replied dryly, "now hurry up; I want to get there before Matsumoto finds out that I'm gone." The shorter teen sped up and broke out into a run down the streets. Ichigo caught up with the earth-bound captain moments later by the crosswalk waiting for the lights to turn green.
"Geeze," Ichigo huffed, slinging his backpack behind him. "What's your hurry? Matsumoto-san won't be out of there for hours." The young captain had left his lieutenant with Orihime going over the human girl's accessories and make-up box. From experience, Ichigo knew that they could be gone for hours before the blonde noticed that they were gone.
Hitsugaya snorted at Ichigo's nonchalance.
"She could easily left her gigai in the bathroom to come search in her soul form."
Ichigo looked down at the white-haired captain's small form. The kid was too thin, he reflected briefly before looking across the crosswalk to a crowd of people waiting on the other side. True Hitsugaya was one of the more level-headed captains and the most likely to keep cool in the chaos of the human world but Ichigo didn't get why they had to send a kid, who seemed to be striving to be Captain Ukitake the second, to help with war efforts in the human world.
Rukia was almost two hundred, what did that make Toushiro?
"She's your lieutenant, what can she possibly do?"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth regretted it. Ichigo could think of a number of things the buxom lieutenant of the tenth division could do in the real –to him anyways- world.
The light flickered green.
"You have absolutely no idea do you Kurosaki?"
"Hey, she's just worried about you."
They walked in silence until coming up onto a familiar candy store.
"I know."
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"I am in need of your services former captain Urahara Kisuke."
And as Ichigo looked around in the shop, Hitsugaya began to explain the situation at hand. He left out most of the details concerning his involvement but emphasized that he needed something desperately to stabilize his reiatsu. Growling a little when he got to the 'three traitors' part, he outlined the plans of Gotei 13. By the time he finished, the blonde man was struggling to keep a smile off of his face.
"Nuh uh uh" Urahara said wagging his fingers. "You're not telling the truth, I can tell."
Hitsugaya sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.
"The truth is that you're a pain." The white-haired captain deadpanned. "They used the gigai and the orb incident to kick you out before you drove them insane."
"That's entirely plausible... hey...!"
Feeling a migraine coming on, Hitsugaya released the hell butterfly from his pockets. He let it flutter in midair before prodding it to reproduce the message sent by Captain Yamamoto.
"Zzz... ex-captain Urahara, you are needed for you services."
It was clearly the first division Captain's voice. Urahara tensed, his hand tightening unconsciously around the sealed form of Benihime. Listening to the rather terse explanation, the blonde turned to the prodigy raising his eyebrow.
"You came all the way over here just to grow up?"
Hitsugaya looked away blushing.
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"... This is something I haven't used in a long time but it should give you the results you need..."
Ichigo, who had been listening to the conversation, chose this moment to break in. "Hey wait a minute!" Ichigo burst out, pointing accusingly at the small beaker in Hitsugaya's hands. "You mean all this time you could have just given me the damned thing?!"
Urahara came up from behind Ichigo and tapped him on the head with his cane.
"But where's the fun in that?" the blonde chirped, sort of twirling towards the white haired captain. Ichigo growled and rubbed the place he had been struck. Before the strawberry-blonde could retort however, Urahara added mockingly "Unless you're that desperate to die."
Hitsugaya, who had been sipping the contents of the beaker with a dubious expression, spat most of it out upon the announcement. The oily liquid hit the floor. Hitsugaya noticed that it seemed to eat though the wood. Ichigo joined him in backing away as Ururu scurried about wiping up the spillage.
Urahara laughed and tapped his green-and-white bucket hat with his cane when Hitsugaya held the half-empty beaker out to him.
"It won't kill you chibi-taichou. The elixir works as a sort of an extreme aging potion, too strong for to be used on humans but just enough to get you on your way into the wonderful world of adults."
Hitsugaya somehow doubted all of that.
Ichigo, realizing that the boards hadn't been eaten through and just aged to the point of becoming dust, ventured slowly
"So... if I drank it, it'd make me an old geezer like you?"
Urahara again sneaked up on the other blonde and thwacked him –twice- across the back of the head.
"Please, you'd be lucky to have a pile of bones left after you drink it."
The look on Urahara's face was enough for Hitsugaya to believe him. Sighing, the green-eyed captain held his breath and dumped the elixir down his throat.
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"So they've sent reinforcements into the real world I see... I'm surprised they would risk Hitsugaya-taichou in this mission..."
"Want me ta go take care of 'em?"
"No... I believe someone's already seen to that."
"Pity... wouldn' have minded seein' him again."